The present invention relates generally to fax machines and, more particularly, to a modular fax machine adapted to support a printer on an upper surface thereof and having certain components thereof mounted within a retractable drawer.
Fax machines have come into widespread use in the past several years as a convenient means for transmitting written information. Conventional fax machines operate to transmit and receive images of a document. A fax machine transmits a document by producing a graphic image of the document which is converted into a data signal. The data signal is transmitted over conventional phone lines to a receiving fax machine which uses the data signal to drive a printer portion of the receiving fax machine to print an image of the document.
Most conventional fax machines are operable in a fax mode and also a copy mode. In the copy mode, a copy of the document which is fed into the imaging portion of the fax machine is printed by the printer portion of the same fax machine.
The resolution of the printout of a conventional fax machine is usually low. Fax machines also typically use a special paper which is installed in rolls and which tends to curl. For these reasons, most businesses do not use their fax machines for copywork and, in fact, often make a photocopy of any fax document which is received to avoid difficulties which arise when working with fax documents.
Recently, modular fax machines have been introduced which take advantage of the higher resolution and plain sheet paper printing capabilities of laser printers, or the like. Such modular fax machines do not have integral printers. Rather, modular fax machines are provided with processing circuitry and software which enable them to generate a data signal which may be used directly by an attached laser printer. Typically, such modular fax machines are adapted to also be connected to a personal computer which is also attached to the laser printer. In such an assembly, the fax machine functions as a fax modem for the personal computer and as an imaging device or "scanner" for both the personal computer and the laser printer. Such modular fax machine/PC/printer assemblies are described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 590,878 filed Sept. 28, 1990, for DEVICE SHARING SYSTEM USING PCL MACROS of Richard L. Kochis et al.; 606,244 filed Oct. 31, 1990, now abandoned for REMOTE PRINTING USING FAX of Richard L. Kochis et al.; 589,949 filed Sept. 28, 1990, for SWITCH FOR SHARING A PERIPHERAL DEVICE of Brian L. Hastings; 596,252 filed Oct. 12, 1990, for PCL VERTICAL GRAPHICS SCALING USING MACROS of Richard L. Kochis et al.; 606,250 filed Oct. 31, 1990, for ASCII TO ASCII TRANSFER USING FAX PROTOCOL of Richard L. Kochis et al.; and 07/730,016 filed on the same date as this application, for FAX MACHINE CONTROL PANEL of Michael David Erickson and James Charles Dow, which are each hereby specifically incorporated by reference for all that is disclosed therein.
The recent introduction of modular fax machines follows a trend begun by the introduction of the "personal computer" and followed by the introduction of the "personal printer" towards providing an individual operator with all of the computing power and peripheral devices which he is likely to need right at his desk. However, a problem associated with this trend is that an individual operator often has only limited desk space and thus has difficulty fitting a personal computer and multiple peripherals within his work area. In response to this problem, computer and computer peripheral manufacturers have in recent years significantly reduced the size of their machines, thus reducing the "footprints" of the machines. As used herein, the "footprint" of a machine refers to a two-dimensional figure created on a base surface supporting the machine through a vertical projection of the outermost periphery of the machine onto the base surface. However, even with reduced footprints, a computer with its screen and keyboard, a fax machine module, and a printer may still occupy a sizable amount of desk space.
The present invention is adapted to increase available desk space by enabling modular fax machines and associated laser printers or other printing devices to be mounted in a stacked arrangement. A problem associated with stacking of printers or other devices on a fax machine is that traditional fax machines have control panels and document feeders positioned on the top portion thereof. Thus, stacking a printer on top of a fax machine would interfere with the operation of a fax machine of traditional construction. One possible solution would be to provide a control panel and document feeder on a front surface of the fax machine. However, such an arrangement would necessitate a relatively tall fax machine housing to provide adequate room for the control panel and would probably also require an outwardly-projecting document feeder assembly which would increase the overall footprint of the machine. As used herein, "footprint" refers to a surface configuration provided on a base surface through vertical projection of the outermost periphery of a device onto the base surface.